Every day resident physicians in training learn to do surgical procedures and invasive procedures. For the safety of patients, whenever possible, surgical models or simulations are created to enable physicians in training to acquire experience without endangering patients. This invention is bringing to the art of medical education one such model.
A very commonly performed surgical procedure is neonatal circumcision. Residents in departments of obstetrics and gynecology, family medicine, urology, and pediatrics are taught it every year. The techniques described and illustrated in the literature include the Mogen clamp (Mogen Instruments, Brooklyn, N.Y.), the Gomco clamp (Allied Healthcare Products, St. Louis, Mo.), and the PlastiBell® device (Hollister Inc, Libertyville, Ill.).
As reported in “Clinical Pediatrics” (July 2001):                “Nationally, 64% of male neonates are circumcised, but there is wide regional variation: 34% in the West, 80% in the Midwest, and 70% in the Northeast . . . . The likelihood that a pediatrician or obstetrician is taught circumcision during residency relates to the prevailing community practice pattern. Thus pediatrician graduates in the Northeast, where 28% pediatric residencies teach circumcision, may be surprised to find this skill expected of them if they relocate to the West, where 68% pediatric residencies teach circumcision.”        
The comparatively unsophisticated methods (“see one, do one, teach one”) of training young doctors to perform circumcisions have been described in several articles, which have focused on anesthetic considerations.1 Howard CR, Howard FM, Garfunkel LC, de Blieck EA, Weitzman M. Neonatal circumcision and pain relief: Current training practices. Pediatrics 1998; 101:423–8. Fontaine P. Local anesthesia for neonatal circumcision: Are family practice residents likely to use it? Fam Med 1990; 22:371–5. Toffler WL, Sinclaim AE, White KA. Dorsal Penile nerve block during newborn circumcision. Underutilization of a proven technique? Am Board Fam Pract 1990; 3:171–4. Fontaine P, Dittberner D, Scheltema KE. The safety of dorsal penile nerve block for neonatal circumcision. J Fam Pract 1994; 39:43–8. Taddio A, Stevens B, Craig K, Rastogi P, Ben-David S, Shennan A, et al. Efficacy and safety of lidocaine-prilocaine cream for pain during circumcision. N. Eng J Med 1997; 336:1197–201.
None of these articles discloses use of a neonatal manikin having a generally anatomically correct simulated neonatal penis as a training tool.
While proposals have been made for using rubber surgical “glove fingers” disposed over an elastomeric “pacifier” nipple as a model (Obstetrics & Gynecology, Vol. 93, No. 5, Part 1, May 1999) or using the little finger of a surgical gloved hand as a model (Clinical Pediatrics, p. 411, July 2001), these are far from optimal training aids. Thus, there is a need for providing greater verisimilitude to doctors and others learning how to perform circumcisions.